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Anurognathus
Anurognathus was a tiny pterosaur that had a short head, pin-like teeth for catching insects, and although it traditionally is ascribed to the long tailed pterosaur group, its tail was comparatively short, allowing it more maneuverability for hunting in woodland. With a wingspan of 50 cm (20 inches) and a 9 cm long body (skull included), it could not have weighed more than a few grams. Facts Anurognathus is a genus of small pterosaur that lived approximately 155-140 million years ago during the late Jurassic Period. It had a short head with pin-like teeth for catching insects and although it traditionally is ascribed to the long tailed pterosaur group (Rhamphorhynchoidea), its tail was comparatively short, allowing it more maneuverability for hunting. The reduced tail of Anurognathus was similar to the pygostyle of modern birds. Its more typical rhamphorhynchoid characters include its elongated fifth toe and short neck. With a wingspan of 50 cm (20 inches) and a 9 cm long body (skull included), it probably weighed no more than a few grams. Only two skeletons have been found, in the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria. Anurognathus was first named and described by L. Döderlein in 1923. The genus name Anurognathus is derived from the Greek αν/an- ("without"), оυρα/oura ("tail"), and γναθος/gnathos ("jaw") in reference to its unusually small tail relative to other rhamphorhynchoids pterosaurs. The species name A. ammoni honours the Bavarian geologist Ludwig von Ammon. Anurognathus was a member of the family or clade Anurognathidae. In Primeval Episode 1.5 A flock came through an anomaly and attacked a golfer off screen, stripping the flesh from his bones in minutes. They were then seen roosting in a tree by Connor and Abby before being lured away by the scent of blood from a hospital-type blood drip. Later they killed a doctor then surrounded the house where Nick Cutter was treating Claudia Brown for her concussion and attacked like locusts. The pair fled from room to room as the Anurognathus broke through the windows and skylights. Eventually Claudia barricaded herself in a safe room when Cutter ran to the ambulance. In the mean time, his wife, Helen Cutter, who appeared from nowhere, helped Claudia to escape while she made a gas explosion with the ovens and microwave and killed all the Anurognathus. Episode 5.5 During the convergence a swarm of Anurognathus, considerably smaller than the flock encountered in episode 1.5, appear in the skies around the Power Station housing Philip's New Dawn machine. They are first seen chasing Matt and Emily who shoot a few of them with EMD's but were eventually forced under a shutter door into the main building of the power station. After being jumped and caught by two guards, April orders the guards to remove Matt and Emily from of the building. About to open the door, a guard is warned by Matt of the danger awaiting on the other side. Ignoring him, the guard opens the door. With the pterosaurs distracting the guards, Matt and Emily make a run for it leaving the guards to their doom. Later as Abby, Connor and Emily are working their way through the power station they come across bodies of guards and Abby instantly recognises the cause of their death from the condition of the bodies. As they carry on through the building the chirps of the Anurognathus can be heard echoing through the building. As Abby pursues April, threatening to shoot her, a pair of Anurognathus attack April. Abby grabs April and pulls her to the floor in an attempt to save her but April picks up the EMD that Abby dropped moments before. As Abby lays on the floor with April standing over her the rest of the swarm arrive chasing April until she falls to her death. It is unknown whether it was the creatures or the fall that killed her but it is more likely to have been the fall as no cuts or blood could be seen on her body.It is unknown what happened to the Anurognathus. It is possible that they are still in the present killing more victims. Trivia *The creatures seen here are different from the creatures seen in the fossil record and live in a different era. They were presumably re-imagined by the producers to make them scarier. They most likely evolved from the species Anurognathus ammoni. *Anurognathus is Greek for "without tail jaw" indicating that they had jaws and a small tail. *This is the second creature to come into the present in a swarm the first being the Protosolpugidae. *This creature came through the anomaly in greater numbers than any other species, but it looks like Future Beetles will take this record when they appear in Episode 5.4 because it looked as if thousands of them were coming through the anomaly to the future. *Anurognathus is the only pterosaur so far to cause deaths. *With a gap of 4 years and around 4 months between Episode 1.5 and Episode 5.5. The Anurognathus has the longest interval between appearances of any creature in Primeval. *Before it was confirmed the Anurognathus would appear in Episode 5.5, they were originally thought to be the "swarm" confirmed to appear in Episode 5.4, which was later revealed to be Future Beetles. *Anurognathus appeared in Episode 5 of the first and fifth series. *Along with the Future Predator and Coelurosauravus, this is one of the only creatures from Series 1 to appear in Series 5. *The Anurognathus are merely referred to as "Pterosaurs" in Episode 5.5. *This is the second Pterosaur that Matt Anderson has encountered. *This was the second swarm of Creatures. *This is the fourth creature to kill an antagonist.(The Cleaner was killed by a Silurian Scorpion, the Future Predator killed Oliver Leek in Series 2 and Christine Johnson in Series 3, and Dromaeosaurus killed Helen Cutter in Series 3 and Henry Merchant 2 episodes before April's death.) Errors *Anurognathus did not come from the Late Cretaceous like Pteranodon but came from the Jurassic. **''This creature may actually have not been an actual Anurognathus, as the creatures are only ever referred to as pterosaurs.'' *Anurognathus ate insects, but when in Primeval it was a flesh eating monster. **''This probably evolved from the insect-eating Anurognathus.'' *The Primeval websites and merchandise misspelled Anurognathus as Agnuronathus. Gallery Episode1.5 31.jpg Episode1.5 33.jpg Episode1.5 35.jpg Episode1.5 36.jpg Episode1.5 37.jpg Episode1.5 40.jpg Episode1.5 42.jpg Episode1.5 44.jpg Episode1.5 45.jpg Agnurog.jpg Agnu.jpg Anurognathus Convergence.png|Anurognathus attacking the New Dawn Project building. External Links *Anurognathus on the Watch site Category:Pterosaurs Category:Series 1 Creatures Category:Series 5 Creatures Category:Creatures Category:Jurassic creatures Category:Creatures that cause deaths Category:Series 5